


stop the world

by vipertooths



Series: BBCM: Merlin/Arthur [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 08:43:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17936543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vipertooths/pseuds/vipertooths
Summary: For a prompt by ms-erie on Tumblr:King Arthur is overworked when he receives delegate after delegate to discuss the unification of Albion. They’re in a time crunch but Arthur really, really, needs to rest. In comes Merlin and stops time for a few hours so Arthur can rest.





	stop the world

Arthur opens his eyes to see the curtains still drawn and, for a moment, he thinks he simply woke up before needed. It is a glorious, peaceful moment, until he remembers that there is no way he could be waking up so early on his own when he fell asleep so late. In fact, the last thing he remembers is being at his desk.

He gets up, even though he’s loath to leave the warmth and comfort of his bed, and curses the cold, stone floor as he walks to the window. When he peeks behind the curtain to check, he is greeted by bright light and the sun shining merrily high up in the sky. How in the _world_ had no one woken him up? He was far too busy to be sleeping in to this extent, or at all, for that matter.

In the midst of hastily pulling on clothes and making a note to fire his new servant, the door behind him opens and he spins around to see Merlin ushering in a tray of food.

“Merlin! All that time I spent thinking _you_ were the most useless manservant and I have finally been proven wrong!” He turns about as Merlin sets the tray down, searching for his boots. “I’m surprised nobody else came barreling down my door. Ugh, where are my--”

“Arthur, calm down.”

“Calm down!? There is a growing crowd of impatient nobility gathering in my castle and I can’t even find my bloody boots!”

Merlin sighs and the boots fly from their hiding spot and into his outstretched hand. Arthur attempts to grab them, but Merlin holds tight.

“There’s no time for games.”

“Arthur, seriously, no one is waiting for you. You can relax. Sit down. Have something to eat.”

The first bit pulls him up short and he stops playing tug-o-war with his court sorcerer. “What do you mean no one is waiting for me? They can’t very well do anything _without_ me.”

“They can sleep,” Merlin says, pointedly pulling the boots away and setting them on the floor.

“Sleep,” Arthur repeats dubiously. “Just because you like to sleep until noon, it doesn’t mean everyone else does.”

“Hey, being court sorcerer is tiring work! Plus, I may have… _castasleepingspellonthem_.”

Arthur blinks. He certainly couldn’t have heard that right. “Come again?”

“I said I cast a sleeping spell on them. Or, well, I froze them in time while they were asleep. Same thing, really.”

“You _froze_ them!? What is _wrong_ with you? I am trying to _unite_ Albion, not cause more problems!”

“They won’t even know anything happened to them. They’ll wake up tomorrow morning well rested and none the wiser! I swear.”

Arthur rubs his temples and tries to keep his Merlin headache at bay. “And _why_ did you decide to do this?”

“You were overworking yourself. You needed this.” Merlin motions to the chair in front of the breakfast tray and he finally gives in and sits. It has all of his favorites, even down to the plum pastry.

“Are plums even in season right now?”

“Well,” Merlin says, leaning his hip against the table, “not technically. Another benefit to practicing time magic. Now, you eat, I’ll go read over what you wrote last night.”

Merlin is strangely adept with words when he puts in the effort, catching problems with seemingly insignificant wording, and Arthur nods. The last thing he needs is a loophole in a treaty right now. “Thank you.”

Even without saying anything further, Merlin understands that he isn’t just giving thanks for the extra pair of eyes.

“You’re welcome.”

The rest of his--very late--breakfast passes in silence, aside from his own chewing and the occasional shuffle of papers or scratch of a quill. In his head, he admits to feeling much better now than he has in probably weeks.

He stands and stretches before making his way back to his bed, stripping off the clothes he had rushed to put on. If he’s getting a day to relax, he’s going to make the most of it.

After he is comfortably situated, he pulls back the bedclothes and gives a few pats to the empty spot beside him. “Come on, then.”

Merlin looks up, pausing the tapping of the quill against his lip, which has left a smudge of ink. “I’m not finished.”

Arthur raises an eyebrow. “Are you saying you’d rather do that than join me?”

It doesn’t take him long to decide, and he’s soon curled up under the covers, silly smudged lips and all. Fondness surges through Arthur, who presses an indulgent kiss to them.

“I’m actually still a bit tired.”

“What if I’m not?” Merlin asks, but his eyes are already shut.

“Then pretend.”

He hums appreciatively when Arthur twines their fingers together. “I can do that.”

He’s asleep in minutes.

No dignitary is indeed ever the wiser about the extra day of visitation.

 

**Author's Note:**

> still open for ficlet requests on most pairings (as long as i am in the fandom)  
> you can send prompts to me [here](http://vipertooth.tumblr.com/)!


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